Drag Queen Story Time

[LizzyStrata]

First time posting here, so not sure of the etiquette. My apologies if this is the wrong place to raise these concerns.

Reading Borough Council is planning to hold Drag Queen Story Hour events in our libraries during the summer holidays. I’ve written to my MP, my councillors, and the Head of the Library Service to raise concerns. I think drag is entirely inappropriate for children, as it is a form of adult entertainment, highly sexualised and misogynistic, that blurs boundaries and undermines safeguarding.

The response Ive had is simply that they have received very few complaints so no reason to cancel.

Has anyone had any experience of tackling their local library over this issue? Grateful for any tips.

Also, if you live in Berkshire ,would you be willing to write and share your concerns?

thanks!

Damn, I missed that thread. It really is a thing of beauty! Somebody must have cast-iron self-regard to show up again after that...

Cast-iron is often a good baking implement for pies of any type, so I think it goes without saying how enduring some posters self-regard is.

Response from Leeds City Council to my second complaint. Doesn't address any of the points about how this benefits small children, why adult, misogynistic, sexualised entertainment is appropriate for children. Blurring boundary between sexes etc etc.

'Your complaint has been escalated to Stage 2 of our procedure and allocated to me for investigation and response in line with our Complaints Policy.

I shall first detail my understanding of the elements of your complaint

The presence of security guards checking bags at Central Library on 6 August 2022

The inclusive nature of both this event and our wider programme

The appropriateness of the event

For clarification, I will address each point in turn.

I am sorry to learn that your child was distressed by the presence of security guards checking bags at Central Library on 6 August.

This extraordinary process was put in place following intelligence gathered form library services across the country where the Drag Queen Story Hour had been performed. We implemented this process as a result of discussions we had locally with the police and our security teams.

The guards were instructed to make the process as friendly as possible and to greet library customers with a warm welcome. We received a number of positive verbal comments on the day thanking us for creating a safe environment for the performance to go ahead.

We are proud of the diverse nature of our programming which has included, for example a programme of Digital Stories for children which focuses on celebrating global majority communities and we currently have an exhibition and events programme celebrating the Jamaican community in Leeds. We will ensure that we continue to include Equality, Diversity and Inclusion as a key strand of our future programming.

As outlined in the earlier response to you, before this event was booked it was reviewed for suitability and quality by the Library Service and was judged to be an appropriate event for the intended age range

I trust that I have fully addressed the issues you have raised. However, as your complaint has now been considered under both Stage 1 and Stage 2 of our Complaints Policy, if you wish to continue to pursue any aspect of your complaint'

Sounds like they're 100% passing the buck to the library service.

It's never disabled person's storytime, is it?
Drag is adult entertainment. Take your kids to a drag show when they are 18

Well the drag queen you seem to be refering to the most does have ADHD so therefore it is drag story time and disabled story time. But would you be contacting the libraries involved asking if DBS checks were in place for any other person reading to children? Obviously they would have this in place but this topic mentions several times what safeguarding has been put in place for DQSH and contacting libraries on this issue. Do you do this every time there is a story time at your library?

Why speak to toddlers about ADHD? What is the point of these story times? And yes, anyone interacting with kids needs to have checks - why would any group NOT have checks? I had to have a check when I read to kids at DSs school when he was little. I also had to have a check when I worked somewhere that had a nursery on the premises (I had no reason to interact with the kids).

I have to check people where I now work - and that’s a fair amount of paperwork that I have to have filed and available for external checks. If someone demanded I didn’t check them/there was no need to check XY or Z people then I’d be really suspicious. And they wouldn’t be allowed on the premises.

I am not suggesting that anyone who is around children should not have these checks done. I am saying that many people on this thread have questioned whether this person has been adequately checked but do not question a library's checking procedures when other adults have read to children in their libraries, it is just trusted and assumed that this has been done.
I don't think this drag queen speaks about ADHD to toddlers and also I believe that children attending can be older than toddlers, up to around 6/7. But you specifically said what about disabled story hour, I was saying that this person is disabled whilst also being a drag queen and doing a story hour.
As to what is the point, I do feel there are benefits which people here may not agree with but maybe just because it was a fun summer time activity that children enjoyed and their parents enjoyed. We could discuss what 'the point' is of many activities we do with our children such as taking them to see yet another Pixar film, taking them to Disney land etc we do it because our children enjoy it and it's fun. The point is to have fun.

What is your point? A stripper could have ADHD but wouldn't be appropriate for doing a story time, because of the whole stripper thing.

I think your missing the point here if you're saying DQST is fun, so is going to see a Disney film, what's the difference? Those two aren't comparable, a Disney film is children's entertainment. The footage of those kids in the US at that adult drag show looked like they were having fun, does that justify them being there?

What benefits exactly? I don’t see the benefits of an adult entertainment brought in for small kids - unless it is to normalise adult entertainment to small children. Why not get in pole dancers then?

There are discussions (well, spats) on twitter with cheerleaders saying that such acts should not have checks - they don’t specify exactly why one group of adults shouldn’t have checks beyond ‘it’s transphobic’ to ask.

The point is to have fun.

Why is it 'fun' to have a man wearing fake breasts read a story to children?

Would it be 'fun' to have a woman with a codpiece do the same?

I thought it was supposed to be educational… incloosion and diversitee and all that jazz…

Indeed. Would a sequined pole dancer with a big fake penis be just as acceptable, I wonder.

Because drag is not exclusively adult entertainment. There is little point in me trying to change your opinions on this because of course I would not take my son to something I believed was adult entertainment either. But drag story hour isn't this. My son has seen drag queens from an early age due to the fact that my two best friends do drag, they also have full time jobs where they support young people struggling with their mental health (obviously not in drag). They are both very responsible people, when my son has seen them perform in drag say at pride they adjusted their routine for example would lipsynke to songs with no swear words, wear different consumes and use different language. At a club or bar it is more adult and my son would not see them in those settings doing those routines. I see no harm in my son seeing our friends in drag when adjusted for the audience, my son also loves dressing up and putting on glitter etc and being like them. They are great role models. Drag is not only adult entertainment, if it was then no my son would not be seeing it.

Why is dressing up as a sexualised parody of womanhood a great role model?

How are they great role models exactly? In what way is this something a small kid can look at and think ‘wow, I can do that!’ more so than a firefighter or champion table tennis player?

Dress up like a Christmas tree, slap in a tonne of stage makeup? Miming to songs?

It’s adult entertainment - why is it being pushed so so very hard to get into schools and toddler groups? What does this actually teach little kids?

Why on earth is drag considered fun or appropriate for children? They’re not great role models at all. That sort of nonsense is similar to the stunning and brave stuff that’s trotted out and always about men.

I think they are great role models, they have responsible jobs, do a great deal of charity work also and support the LGBTQ+ community. But here those things are not seen as positive things at all, they actually seem to either be seen as negative or just because they also do drag makes people here question their motives. They also have a stable, loving relationship that unfortunately my son doesn't see in other places. I see no problem with my son, who is 9 wanting to be like them in any way, if he wants to dress up in drag then I let him. I don't see drag as mocking women or whatever but I see the opinion here is that you do think that. So I'll keep doing what I'm doing parenting wise and you keep doing what your doing. I just wish you would stop trying to ruin these things for others. Just don't take your children to drag queen story hour.

I take it they don't call themselves "Anna Bortion" or "Flow Job" or "Miss Carriage" while not "mocking women or whatever"?

My son has seen drag queens from an early age due to the fact that my two best friends do drag, they also have full time jobs where they support young people struggling with their mental health (obviously not in drag).

Why 'obviously not in drag'? You keep saying that drag is appropriate entertainment for children, so why wouldn't these people wear drag to their work supporting young people struggling with their mental health if drag is so wholesome?

According to you, a man dressed as a sexualised parody of a woman is a great role model. Surely this would help those young people with mental health problems in that case.

Desmond is Amazing with Michael Alig, a convicted murderer. Drag is all about great role models.

Because when they are in drag they are performing not supporting/councelling young people. Some might say that they are being their drag character. And no their names bear no resemblance to the ones you have chosen to highlight. But I sense that these questions are not asked out of genuine interest rather to push your own points of view. I suppose the difference is that if my son were to tell me he wanted to be a drag queen I would tell him 'that's great if that's what you want to do' because I don't see drag as offensive to women, it certainly doesn't offend me, so I don't worry about him wanting to be like a drag queen he sees doing a story time. From what I've read you wouldn't be happy about this.

Because when they are in drag they are performing not supporting/councelling young people. Some might say that they are being their drag character.

In what way are they role models if they are their drag character?